I ran a half marathon!!

 

Okay, okay. I know that the posts on Instagram of people smiling and holding their medals next to the finish line are such a cliche at this point, but really!! I’m holding my judgement from now on because it feels way more victorious than I thought it would. Everyone that has ever done it deserves all of the Instagrams they want!

First, background. I ran cross country and track all the way through high school, which meant more running than I can even think about now, and about 4 years of no breaks. I ran 500 miles the summer before my senior year and it was awesome, but I had never run 13 miles at once before. Once I ran 10 miles in the morning and then hobbled 3 more the evening after, but that doesn’t count as a half marathon.

It sounds generous to tell myself that I “took the year off” after high school because that suggests that I chose to give myself that time off. The reality is, I got out of shape and couldn’t possibly make myself get back to running again because it’s really hard!! I blame that on not feeling mentally prepared to run after 4 years of running being a priority, and that was probably partly true. Anyway, the point is that I didn’t run for over a year, I ate a lot of cheeseburgers and milkshakes, and I gained 20 lbs.

So, starting this school year, I made the usual promise that I was going to work out more, yada yada. I don’t think I actually meant it. But then, after the first day of classes, a spot in the Intro to Half Marathon Running class opened up! This is an exclusive class, you guys. It fills up fast. It was my opportunity to be held accountable for running again!

Long story short, I got into the class and even though I wasn’t quite as good about keeping up with the training plan as I should have been, I was successfully running 3-4 times a week (even though it hurt a lot at times.) I mostly ran between 9 and 11pm because honestly, I put off my run every day. It usually wasn’t something I looked forward to, but it felt really good once I finished every time. I logged my runs on the designated website at the end of every week. All in all, though, I got my groove back.

I learned some valuable things from the class itself. This class met at 8:45am on Tuesdays for about 15 minutes, and consisted of the cross country coach trying to come up with some kind of helpful advice for us (when he remembered to come to class.) Most of the time he gave us tips like what to wear, how to stretch, and how hard to train, but one day he talked about nervousness on race day. He simply said, “If you feel nervous on race day, which you might, remember that all of those nervous feelings will help you.” This was crazy!!! That one sentence could have changed my entire running career in high school!! I always raced worse than I practiced because I freaked out about being nervous! I was nervous about being nervous! Man. I wish I knew that earlier.

Race day came the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I wasn’t nervous. I knew I could do it. I knew it would hurt, but I knew I could do it. Ben and his mom and his sister Rebecca decided the night before that they were going to come run the 5k while I ran the half marathon, and that was really cool! We all got ready and walked to the starting line together, and when it was time, I took off.

My first mile was too fast, then my second mile was too fast, and before I knew it, I was halfway done and still running at 8:40 pace- a speed I hadn’t seen since high school. I felt great!! I texted my family after every mile, and I found the miles going pretty quickly. At about mile 8, I started slowing down and feeling the fatigue, but the Shot Reverse Shot by Jack Johnson came on at that moment and picked me up again.

In training, I had only ever run 10 miles before, so when I passed the 10 mile mark, I knew the last three would be hard mentally. But, instead, I found that I was just really proud of myself. After the 10 mile marker, I was officially running more than I ever had before- more than I did even at my best shape. I was tired and a little bored, but I was proud. I was happy.

All of the hills came in mile 11 and 12. Thanks, race directors. I was really struggling in mile 12. Then, when I crested the biggest hill and saw the sign that marked the beginning of the 13th mile, I stopped to gather myself. I took a sip of water and touched my toes, shook out my shoulders, and prepared for just one more mile. The end was near!!

Mile 13 was the most scenic for sure. The course led us across the signature wooden walking suspension bridge in the middle of Downtown Chattanooga, and there I saw my sweet Ben and his family, telling me that I really was almost done!! Ben ran the last half mile with me and laughed at my numb expression.

I asked Ben if I could run the straightaway myself to claim my accomplishment as my own, because that’s what it was for me. For the first time in years of running and racing, I could contribute my success to me and me only- and that felt so good. There was no coach screaming for me and no team that held me accountable to go to practice every day- I did it on my own.

Oh, man. Did you know the time they  decide to take pictures of you is in the last .1 of a 13.1 mile race?? Who made that decision?? Those pictures are so rough.

I did it, you guys. I ran 13.1 miles even after a year of laziness and cheeseburgers. I did it.

And I sure as heck posted all over Instagram.